In a strange twist of events, Cabell County Circuit Judge Dan O’Hanlon issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday against the previous suspension of top player in the country O.J. Mayo and five of his Huntington High School teammates, allowing them to play in their Tuesday night showdown agianst #11 Artesia (CA) HS in Durham, North Carolina. Artesia features Arizona State signee James Harden, USC recruit Malik Story, and 6’10 sophomore stud Renardo Sidney.

The Mayo saga began Friday night, during Huntington’s 77-64 victory over Capital HS, as Mayo drove down the lane and threw down a dunk in traffic in a tight game. He received a technical foul for “delay of game”, as he held the ball after his slam and walked down the floor. Mayo then put the ball down, and an opposing Capital player bumped him. Mayo then exchanged words with that Capital player, and was given a second technical foul. This is where things start to get interesting….

Mayo then followed the official who gave him the technical fouls, Mike Lazo, over towards the scorer’s table. Contact was reportedly made between Mayo and Lazo that sent Lazo crashing to the ground, although the VIDEO provided by WOWK-TV of Charleston/Huntington, WV clearly shows that very little contact (if any) was made between the two, and certainly not enough to drop Lazo to the ground. O.J. then immediately left the floor without any further incident.

Louis Brems, The Herald-Dispatch

A hearing for Mayo and his other teammates (who were suspended for leaving the bench during this incident) has been set for February 9th by Judge O’Hanlon, who has barred West Virginia state athletic officials from making any suspensions until a ruling has been made in regards to the players’ procedural rights to appeal the suspensions. However, if the restraining order on the suspensions is reversed come February 9th, Huntington would be forced to forfeit all games that Mayo and his five teammates have played in. This could be the “death penalty” to Huntington High, as they are currently the nation’s #1 ranked high school team, and should remain atop the polls, barring a huge upset.

This is just another chapter in the well documented saga of O.J. Mayo. He is such a talented player, who always seems to have some minor sort of drama that follows him wherever he goes. Much of this, in Ohio at least, could be blamed on local media bias. It seems as if no matter where Mayo lands however, you will still have the same jaw-jacking, confident player who knows that he can do absolutely whatever he wants out there on the floor. Many basketball purists do not agree with his antics on the court, but in today’s game, O.J.’s actions are merely the norm of what all NBA stars are doing today.

DraftExpress will be represented at the McDonald’s All America Game, Jordan Classic, EA Sports Roundball Classic, Nike Hoop Summit, Adidas Derby Classic and their respective practices, so there will be much more to be written on Mayo in the near future. It is currently presumed by most basketball insiders that Mayo will choose to participate in the McDonald’s Game (March 28th in Louisville), EA Sports Roundball Classic (April 3rd in Chicago), and Nike Hoop Summit (April 7th in Memphis).